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Right now VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) is in the final "mark-up" phase in the U.S. Congress. Because of unexpectedly stiff opposition, feminist organizations have been approaching a variety of fatherhood groups seeking their support for the reauthorization of VAWA.
Here's Exhibit A: "VAWA Reauthorization: Its Relevance to Fatherhood Organizations," which was recently written by Allison Lipscomb and published by the Madison, WI-based Center on Fathers, Families, and Public Policy.
Attempting to portray VAWA as pro-family, Miss Lipscomb uses loopy logic to suggest, "With its goal of eradicating violence from the home domain, VAWA serves as one essential thread in the family protection fabric of which fatherhood groups are a part."
Lipscomb also hints that VAWA may provide monies to resource-hungry fatherhood organizations: "Through its variety of programs, VAWA provides funding to community-based organizations whose efforts may overlap with the work of fatherhood groups."
These are the 5 reasons why VAWA is profoundly flawed:
- VAWA does not recognize the fact that men are as likely to victimized by domestic violence as women.
- Because VAWA regulations specifically prohibit the provision of services to battered men, VAWA violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution.
- VAWA gives rise to false allegations. Some attorneys now recommend that women seeking child custody file a domestic violence complaint, even if it has no basis in fact.
- VAWA makes it harder for fathers to get joint custody. Once a charge of domestic violence is on the books, the legal system views the father as a menace to his children. And some versions of VAWA have proposed that child custody be awarded to the "primary caretaker," a code word for "mother."
- VAWA promotes the radical Marxist-feminist belief that men as a class use violence as a tool to dominate and oppress women. This simplistic analysis does a profound disservice to male-female relationships. As a result, VAWA ends up pitting men against women.
VAWA relentlessly scapegoats men as abusers and batterers. VAWA teaches women to play the victim. And VAWA is responsible for the removal of children from their loving father. VAWA is bad for fathers, women, and children.
We don't need a gender war in this country.
Oppose VAWA.
What do you think? - Post your comments on the Equalitarian Forum.
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